


the ivory keys

by tkreyesevandiaz



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Buck Centric, Buck is a Good Dad, Caring Eddie Diaz, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hidden Talents, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Marriage Proposal, POV Alternating, Self-Indulgent, Slight Mention of Buck's Parents, This is pure fluff, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Worried Eddie Diaz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:08:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23626639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tkreyesevandiaz/pseuds/tkreyesevandiaz
Summary: Buck didn’t think he’d come back to this one thing again.As a kid, he’d crashed into the habit like a beautiful accident. He’d stumbled upon the old instrument in the guest house where his parents usually held brunches and parties for other aristocrats in their circles, at age eight. After hearing the reverberating sound from the keys, it became an obsession to learn.
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz
Comments: 56
Kudos: 412





	the ivory keys

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!
> 
> This is a purely self-indulgent fic about Buck really xD There's so much fluff down here it makes my teeth hurt. There is some hurt/comfort and a little angst (y'all know me now xD)
> 
> Lemme warn y'all that I don't play this instrument (research wins!) so if anyone of you do, and notice something out of place, please let me know!
> 
> I'm very proud to say that this is my 25th fic! Silver Jubilee!! I'm glad it's this one ;) I know a lot of you stan a creative!Buck, so here it is <3
> 
> Also, this is dedicated to @ao3theskyisblue on tumblr because they wanted to see a musical fic <3

Buck didn’t think he’d come back to this one thing again.

As a kid, he’d crashed into the habit like a beautiful accident. He’d stumbled upon the old instrument in the guest house where his parents usually held brunches and parties for other aristocrats in their circles, at age eight. After hearing the reverberating sound from the keys, it became an obsession to _learn._

Buck still remembered his old music teacher, Monsieur Travers, who had a slight French accent and a gentle smile. Every time he cast a look towards the instrument, he remembered the man’s kind scolding for Buck to hold his posture properly.

_“Evan, sit straight and fix your hand positions. You need them for more than playing the pianoforte, you know.”_

The teacher never pronounced it as simply “piano.” It was always the older, Italian term for the word, but somehow, Monsieur Travers’ insistence on using the olden diction made it seem like an ancient art, one that had not changed with the times.

Even though it had.

Buck resorted to practicing his hand positions and the chords on the ivory keys like a heathen. The piano, though part of the Buckley family for generations, sounded perfect, always in tune. Buck was aware that his father regularly had the grand piano undergo maintenance, but until Buck had started playing, there hadn’t been much need to. 

Then slowly, it became an escape. Usually on the days he missed Maddie a little bit more than normal. Sometimes on those days his parents were more distant than normal. Whenever he felt overwhelmed, he’d take a deep breath, and channel his emotions through his fingers, moving swiftly and deftly along the keys.

After he left home to trek through South America, his meetings with a piano became less and less until they stopped entirely. By the time Buck settled in Los Angeles, him having played the piano was a distant memory. There were other things that were keeping his eye then, but somewhere, Buck felt like a piece of him was missing.

The missing piece didn’t quite slot into place until a particularly nasty call involving two drunk men trying to maneuver a piano up to a fourth floor apartment.

“So let me get this straight. You two decided that four shots of tequila each would give you the strength to lift this up four flights of stairs.” Chim said as he tended to the first man. The two had gone tumbling down the stairs and had ended up with quite a few injuries, unsurprisingly. All things considered, the piano was still in pretty peak condition, if lodged between the railings to block the staircase off completely.

Buck and Hen exchanged a look as Eddie and Bobby examined the best way to get the instrument out of the bind. 

“We don’t know what we were thinking,” the shorter man replied, looking ashamedly at the instrument. The other man had no such regrets as he broke out into an off-key rendition of “Let It Go.” Cringing back from the horrible sound, Buck shrugged at Eddie.

“Because you weren’t,” Bobby remarked dryly. “Instrument’s fine, it’s just going to need a little push to get out of there. Buck, Eddie, opposite sides. Hen, Chim, let’s get these two into the ambulance and…”

He trailed off at the sight of Athena cocking her head at the two.

“And then, you’re going to enjoy a nice holiday in jail.” The cop approached them, her signature threatening smile on her face. At their confused looks, and the two drunkards’ sheepish ones, she explained. “These two stole this piano from their neighbor, and tried to pass it off as their own. That’s the lady who called this in.”

Chim just snapped his gum, clicking his tongue. “Every time I think a call’s going to be normal, it gets crazier and crazier.” The four firefighters rolled the two men onto backboards, one of them still singing incoherently. 

“I can’t wait for this shift to be over,” Hen muttered under her breath as the drunk guy continued his personal concert in her ear.

Once they were put away, Buck and Eddie picked up opposite ends of the piano to carry back down. It took a lot of huffing and puffing, but they finally managed to bring it back to its rightful place. The sweet lady at the door offered them cookies and tea for the trouble, before going over to the grand instrument.

All the while, Buck’s own gaze had been roaming over the fine body of the grand piano, the smoothed, maple body painted over. He’d been the one to prop the lid open again, with an expertise that had his boyfriend looking at him across the instrument critically. 

As they began to leave, the harsh sounds of the piano keys filtered behind him, as if she were testing if it still worked. Before he knew what he was saying, he had turned around and the words had already left his mouth.

“Ma’am, your piano isn’t tuned properly.” Chim, Hen, Bobby and Eddie froze in the doorway as Buck clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide. 

To her credit, the lady just laughed, not offended at all. “Oh, I don’t play. My son and daughter do, but since they’ve gone off to college, this piano has just been sitting here.” She paused before gesturing to it. “Would you like to take a look?”

It really was a beautifully constructed instrument, one that anyone would be lucky to play. If not for the four pairs of eyes boring into his back, he probably would’ve taken the sweet old lady up on her offer. Instead, he shook his head but thanked her politely. 

He could feel the questions pressing on him the entire way back to the station, but rather than indulge any of them, he silently hung up his turnout coat and went to a bunk room. Blissfully, no one spoke to him about the strange behaviour.

Hearing the piano today had thrown him in for a spin. Not a bad one, just a shaky one. After years of not playing, his fingers were itching to glide along the keys, wrenching note after note from the strings concealed by the great maple wood body. 

Eddie slipped in the bunk room, taking a seat next to where Buck was staring at his hands, palm-side down.

“You used to play?” he prodded softly.

“Yeah. It’s been nearly ten years since I stopped through.” Buck frowned at the faint scars that now decorated the back of his hands, all from sustaining injuries he couldn’t quite remember.

“Why?” 

His boyfriend, when the situation called for it, had never-ending patience. Buck wasn’t quite sure if this counted as a situation like that, but he was thankful Eddie was exercising caution anyway.

The pianoforte was a part of his past that he didn’t quite bring out in the open. Pretty much everything from before his years in LA was still a secret to most of the team apart from Eddie. It wasn’t that it was a bad memory, but if he thought of that one, he’d end up thinking of all the other things he’d steeled himself against.

“It seemed too close to home,” was the only explanation Buck could muster. He didn’t quite know why he’d stopped either. He’d been brilliant at the instrument, one of Monsieur Travers’ best students. 

Eddie hummed softly, and stood, pressing a chaste kiss to Buck’s forehead. “Well, if you ever feel like playing again, I’d love to hear you.”

* * *

The topic didn’t come back up until weeks later, during Christopher’s spring break. Both Buck and Eddie had taken the week off so they could first go to El Paso to see Eddie’s family, and then they were flying to Pennsylvania to visit Buck’s parents.

Whom he hadn’t seen in nearly ten years.

That wasn’t to say that he hadn’t talked to them at all. Just maybe once or twice every few months. 

It was a chore, really.

It wasn’t that he was bitter that his parents weren’t involved in his life. He’d gotten used to it by now, and he had all the parental guidance he wanted from Bobby and Athena. Sure, it wasn’t the same, and it still pained him sometimes to admit that his parents were so distant, but when the conversation didn’t call for it, he preferred not to say anything at all. He was grateful for what he _did_ have.

On the way from the airport to the Buckley house, Buck gripped the steering wheel of his rental car tightly. His father had wanted to send a driver to pick them up, but Buck had declined immediately. There was no way he was taking Eddie and Christopher through his city with a chauffeur. He didn’t want to make a big deal of how much money his parents were sitting on, and the whole driver business would just throw that in all three of their faces.

He still wasn’t quite sure why he hadn’t just booked them a hotel. As soon as they saw the house, they’d know immediately. Buck had half a mind to just turn the car around and take them back.

As if sensing him thinking about bailing, Eddie’s hand landed on Buck’s thigh just as they stopped at a red light. He smiled weakly at his boyfriend, peeking in the rear-view mirror to see Christopher with his face plastered to the glass.

That had him smiling a little bigger.

“Want to tell me why you’re so nervous?” Eddie tangled his fingers with Buck’s. 

“I haven’t seen my parents in person in the past 10 years. They’ve never visited me in LA, and I can count the number of times I’ve talked to them since moving out on two hands.” He kept his voice low, not wanting Christopher to catch whiff of the conversation. “I’m still not entirely sure what we’re doing here.”

“We’re here for your cousin’s wedding,” Eddie reminded him. Alyssa had threatened Buck six ways to Sunday if he didn’t show and if he didn’t bring Eddie and Christopher. She was one of the cousins he could stand and had stayed in touch with.

“Maybe you and Daddy should get married too, Buck! Daddy already wants to marry you!” Chris piped up from the back. The steering wheel jerked slightly as Buck’s head swiveled to Eddie, who was chastising his son for not keeping his secrets. 

“The road, Buck.” Eddie’s voice was heavy with laughter. 

“Am I hearing things?” he wondered out loud as he turned his attention back to the road. “Eddie, Christopher, I swear to God if you’re pulling my leg, I’m turning this car around and we’re going back to LA and both of you are _grounded_.”

“No, silly. You can't ground Daddy, he's older than you,” Christopher giggled, his words ringing with conviction as if it was the law. There was the sound of something rustling and unzipping and then Chris was passing Eddie a small velvet box. Eddie looked besides himself with amusement at how this was going but Buck needed to pull over before he fainted with the shock. He parked the car in the nearest parking lot and turned his body to look at his boys.

“Will you marry me, Buck?” Eddie said softly as Buck’s jaw dropped. The ring was beautiful but Buck’s heart was probably about to burst out of his chest with how fast it was beating.

“Eddie Diaz, are you proposing to me in a _Walmart parking lot_ , after hiding a ring in Christopher’s _backpack?_ ” His voice was choking up by now, tears filling his eyes. Christopher was bouncing eagerly in the back while he looked between Buck and Eddie.

There was literally nothing in the world that could have warned him for this moment. It came out of absolutely nowhere, but seeing how Eddie had crashed into his life armed with the most adorable kid in the universe, it seemed fitting enough. 

“It seemed convenient, considering Chris couldn’t wait a few more days, and there’s no time better than the present.” Eddie paused, looking at the titanium ring in his hands, frowning at the metal. “Wait, is that a yes or a no?”

“Idiot,” Buck laughed wetly. “Of course it’s a yes.”

Eddie smiled widely at that and slipped the ring on Buck’s finger before dragging him into a kiss. For the sake of the boy now covering his eyes and groaning, they kept it short.

Buck exchanged a mischievous look with Christopher. “Well, I guess you better open the glove box then.”

Eddie looked at them, confused, but did as he was told. Buck heard his breath hitch as he took in the small red box in there.

“Evan.” 

Buck only chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, will you marry me, too, Eds?” Christopher was giggling wildly in the back. Eddie only looked at his son, mouth hanging open.

“You knew about this?”

“Of course I did. Bucky asked me first!” 

Eddie’s eyes shot back to Buck, who only grinned. “Evan Buckley, are you proposing to me in a _Walmart parking lot_ with a ring you hid in _the glove box_ of a _rental car?”_ He mimicked Buck’s tone, face still full of disbelief. Buck swiped the box out of his hand and opened it to show his boyfriend.

“I was going to ask you after the break, since I asked your parents while we were in Texas,” he confessed.

“You asked my son and my parents to marry me,” Eddie repeated.

“We asked Abuela and Pepa too,” Christopher added, high-fiving Buck. Eddie’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“Since you covered all your bases, I guess it was good that I asked both Bobby and Maddie, too.” 

Buck realized that Eddie hadn’t given him an answer. “As sweet as _that_ is, are you going to marry me or not?” 

“I’ll think about it,” Eddie shrugged dismissively, setting Christopher off into another fit of giggles. Buck’s jaw dropped as he narrowed his eyes at his now-fiancé. Eddie caved immediately, albeit still smirking. “Of course, my love.” 

Buck slid the ring on his finger, admiring the grey metal against Eddie’s tan skin. He turned to Christopher. “Wait, does that mean you knew when we were ring shopping?"

“Yeah,” Christopher smirked, absolutely looking like Eddie’s son in that moment. Buck soundlessly pointed between Eddie and Christopher and raised his eyebrows as if to say _See what you did?_

Eddie glared at him and held his hand up to Buck’s. The rings matched each other, courtesy of a ten-year-old’s mischievous nature.

“Face it, Eddie. He’s smarter than both of us combined.” Buck commented, ruffling Christopher’s hair as he turned the car back on. Pulling out of the parking lot, he muttered under his breath, “not what I thought would happen today.”

“Are you complaining?”

Buck smiled at him, squeezing his hand. “Not at all. I’ve got everything I need in this car with me, ring or no ring.”

It was weird how Eddie’s ring on Buck’s finger settled his frayed nerves like nothing else. Suddenly, he wasn’t worrying so much about seeing his parents, not with his two pillars of strength by his side.

The same wash of nervousness came back as Buck pulled up to the gates, but not as strong. Christopher’s awed gasp game from behind him but Eddie just looked over at Buck, thinly-veiled worry darkening his eyes.

His parents were waiting in the foyer while Buck passed the key to the butler waiting for them. Christopher slipped his hand in both Buck and Eddie’s.

“Hi Mom, Dad.” He gave his mom a cursory hug, and shook the hand his father held out for him. “This is my fiancé, Eddie Diaz and this little man is Christopher.” 

Instantly, Buck’s father’s face tightened as he took in the family. He had known that Eddie was Buck’s partner, but he’d had very strong opinions about it. Blessedly enough, he kept quiet in front of Christopher. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs. Buckley.” Eddie shook hands with his parents, his other hand finding its way to the small of Buck’s back. There was no way their stiff behaviour escaped Eddie’s keen notice, especially as tuned in to Buck’s body language as he was. Christopher gave them a shy smile, but didn’t step forward. He was half-hiding behind Buck, which was strange because Chris was always eager to meet new people.

This was awkward in a way it hadn’t been in Texas. Buck himself hadn’t met his parents in years, forget introducing them to his family. Already sick of the heavy silence that surrounded them, he clapped his hands together nervously. “Are we staying in the guest house?”

There was a pressing urge to get away from here as fast as possible, before shit hit the fan.

“Yes. Your bags will be brought there.” Buck nodded at his mother, ever the formal hostess. As he led Eddie and Christopher out back to where the shortest path to the guest house was, he heard his mother’s voice behind him. “Evan?”

The only indication he gave his mother that he’d heard her was stopping in his tracks. She continued anyway. “The piano’s been tuned for you.”

Chris was now looking up at him, childlike curiosity blazing in those grey eyes. Buck turned and gave her a polite note of thanks. 

* * *

When they got to the quaint guest house, Christopher immediately turned to Buck and fired question after question. “Bucky, do you play the piano?”

He gave the boy a small smile, a horrible part of him wishing that Christopher would ask about something else. “I used to. I haven’t played in years.”

“How many years?” Ever-curious, the kid blinked up at him with wide eyes. With him looking up at him like that, Buck was helpless in front of his questions. To keep that smile on Chris’ face, Buck would rake himself over hot coals, a thousand times over.

So he indulged him. “Haven’t played in 10 years.” 

Christopher’s face immediately brightened, which lightened Buck’s own mood. “That’s how old I am!” Eddie laughed from where he was leaning against the door hinge as Buck mussed Christopher’s wayward curls.

“Right, superman! I haven’t played since before you were born.”

“I still want to hear you play,” he insisted. Before Chris could drag him towards the small parlour on the other side of the house where the piano was, Eddie intervened from where’d he had been staring softly at the two of them.

“Right now, I think we’re all tired and hungry. Buck, want to show us around town?” Buck knew Eddie was saying it for more for Buck’s benefit than Christopher’s, and tossed a grateful look his way. 

“Buck, why do your parents call you Evan all the time?” Christopher’s next question startled a loud laugh out of Buck.

“Because it’s my name.” Very rarely did anyone call him Evan anymore. Eddie when he was feeling emotional, Maddie when she was mad or scared. His parents had absolutely refused to call him Buck, stating that they’d given the name for a reason. “My parents named me Evan, so they always use it.”

“But I thought you don’t like it,” Chris pointed out, definitely in an interrogating mood today. Buck took it all in stride, knowing that the boy would’ve found out about it at one point. Eddie straightened from where he was rifling through his bag to shoot Buck a questioning look, which he waved off.

“No, I do like it. Your dad calls me Evan sometimes. So does Maddie. I don’t really know why I started going by Buck, but it was sometime in high school. After that, it stuck. People don’t really call me Evan unless they’re super emotional or they want to get my attention.”

The real reason Evan Buckley morphed into Buck was a complicated question. Buck had been in high school when he’d asked his mother why they’d named him Evan. She’d told him that he had come into the world kicking and screaming, fighting for every breath. So they’d named him Evan, meaning “young warrior.”

It was this definition that pushed him into going by Buck. He certainly hadn’t felt like he met his namesake, and Buck was easier to pronounce for everyone anyway. A one-syllable moniker that was distinct. It stuck with him through Surf Beach in South America, all through the SEALs, all through the fire academy and he hadn’t looked back.

Eddie’s hand on his waist dragged him out of his thoughts, a concerned furrow taking residence on his forehead. Buck just shook his head, offering a soft smile as he smoothed out the wrinkles.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, being here just…” He scrambled through his mind, looking for adequate enough words. “It throws me off, that’s all. I haven’t been here in ten years. The day I left, I didn’t look back. It’s weird to be back here, knowing that literally everything from my existence here has probably been wiped out.”

“Why didn’t we just stay somewhere else? You look so uncomfortable, Buck,” Eddie contended lightly. Buck spared a glance at Christopher who had already pulled a coloring book out and was making himself right at home. 

“I’ll be honest, I thought about it. Even while we were outside the gate, I was about to reverse and drive us to the nearest Marriott or whatever. But the only reason I pushed myself to come here was because I don’t want to hide _my_ family from them. You and Christopher are all I need, and honestly, I was planning on telling my parents I was going to marry you while we were here.” Buck looked down at his hand where the engagement ring glimmered dimly. “That’s the only reason I came. They’re not bad people, it’s just that...they always kept us at a distance. It’s so formal here. Maddie and I grew up more with nannies and with each other.”

Eddie rubbed his back, not saying anything. “You’re all I need too, and I’m so glad you said yes. But your father didn’t look very happy about it.”

“Yeah, I think he thought I was just going through something or whatever. He was taken aback when I told him you two were coming with me. Truth be told, he’s a very traditional man. He has a very strict idea of what conventional families look like, and two men with a son doesn’t fit the bill.” Buck squeezed his fiancé’s hand, kissing him quickly. “But I’m not asking for his permission. I’m going to marry you come hell or high water.” 

Eddie’s eyes were sparkling by the time Buck pulled back. Buck offered him a wider smile before letting go of his hand. “Let’s get ready. I’ll take you two to my favourite restaurant and then we can explore this tiny town a little more.”

* * *

Buck took them _everywhere_.

The valet had brought the car around to the guest house, which was another blessing. Buck settled into his skin the further they drove through the small town.

He’d never thought of his home city as something to be so fascinated by. It had a lot of land, which is why Buck's father had built the large mansion here. Hershey was a small town, and like its namesake, the most interesting thing to see was all the tours of the Hershey company, and Hershey’s Chocolate World. Yet, most people who came to Pennsylvania were interested in Philadelphia, which was about a 2 hour drive from Hershey.

He’d planned to take Eddie and Christopher there on the last day before their flight, because Christopher was learning about the Liberty Bell in his classes. Which is exactly why he’d booked their return to LA from Philadelphia’s airport.

“That’s the court where I used to hang out with my friends after school. We’d spent hours playing basketball, drinking pop and eating burgers.” Buck pointed towards the chain-link fence that lined the court. It’d been freshly painted. Even the hoop looked like it was new. The bleachers were still those old, rickety metal rafters, the ones that burned their thighs from outside their basketball shorts in the sun.

“What’s pop?” Chris wrinkled his nose. Eddie laughed.

“Buck’s East Coast side is showing. Pop is soda. Like Coca-Cola.” Christopher giggled.

He smiled sheepishly, realizing how easily he’d slipped back into his old lingo. “Yeah, sorry. And right here, there used to be an old bakery that had the best cookies I’ve ever had.”

“Why’d it close down?” Eddie peered through the windows at where there once used to be a huge bakery shop. The abandoned building had now been converted into enough space to house three new shops.

“The couple who used to run it were an elderly couple, and Pennsylvania winters were pretty hard on them. They closed up shop maybe about a year before I left? I think they moved to Arizona or Georgia.” 

“Are we going to Hershey’s Chocolate World today?” Chris pointed at the sign as they passed on. It was one of the biggest attractions in this city, a tour through the entire Hershey’s chocolate factory, with an expansive food court that sold Hershey delicacies that weren’t in the market. There was also a place for people to create their own candy bars.

“If we go there right now, you’re going to be on a sugar high for the next two weeks.” Eddie joked. “Maybe tomorrow, buddy.”

“Even if we don’t go there right now, the restaurant we’re going to has amazing desserts. I’m sure we can persuade your dad into one or two.” Buck winked at him through the mirror as Eddie shoved him lightly from the side. Christopher grinned back, making him feel a thousand times better about being in his hometown. With all this talk of everything else, Buck finally managed to push all talk of the piano out of his mind.

A day like this was all he needed to let happier memories of Hershey replace the ones from his childhood.

* * *

With Christopher sleeping soundly in one bedroom and Eddie snoring softly next to him, Buck would’ve thought that he’d be curled up into his fiancé’s warmth, sleeping just as deeply. 

But no. He was wide awake, a million thoughts racing through his head, but there was a nagging feeling under his skin, pushing him towards that tucked-away corner in the house.

Buck had taken them to Hershey Gardens last, where they kept up their weekend tradition of taking a walk through the park. Christopher had been delighted to see the lines of budding flowers throughout the park, and they must’ve snapped a thousand pictures. One picture of all three of them was sent in their firehouse group chat, much to the amusement of everyone else.

After that, they’d come back from the city tour all worn out, especially from their travel this morning. They hadn’t stepped back into the main house, cutting directly to the guest house on their way back. Christopher had been brimming with joy with all the new things he’d learned about Buck, but ultimately, he’d fallen asleep right after eating the dinner the servants had left in the fridge.

Eddie had put Chris to bed and had come back to cuddle with Buck, holding onto him a little tighter, as if sending how much emotional energy the day had taken out of Buck. He couldn’t help the grateful flow of tears that had welled up at Eddie’s consideration, and had tucked himself into his side to hold onto him tighter as he fought back a sob. 

Instead of taking advantage of his vacation time to sleep in with the love of his life, he was _still_ awake. 

Giving up on sleep, Buck slipped out of bed quietly, careful not to jostle Eddie. He padded softly down the hallway. On his way, Buck peeked in to check on Christopher, who was snuggled into a ball on his bed. He smiled at the sight before continuing.

A groan came from the hinges as Buck pushed open the doors to the parlour slightly. His feet felt stuck to the ground as he took in the room, gaze roaming everywhere as the familiar musty smell wafted towards him.

The same tapestries still decorated the walls in colorful depictions, the hues slightly faded after ten years. There was a large bookshelf in one corner, running from floor to ceiling; it was still packed with historical novels with cracked spines and worn pages. Most of the volumes had Buck’s fingerprints ingrained on them, years of reading and re-reading them manifesting in a show of weathered love. Those books were the source of the distinct scent that never seems to dissipate, no matter how much furniture polish or bleach was used to clean the room.

As a kid, the aesthetic of the parlour is what had drawn him to the guest house more often than not. There had been many nights spent in this space, before he’d learned how to play the grand instrument that still took up stark residence in the middle of the room. Many nights where Buck had settled his small body into the armchair near the bookshelf, filing random facts and figures in his mind over and over like a mantra. It was a habit that still hadn’t left him.

The only thing that seemed like it had changed was the now-large window that traversed over one long wall. A closer look proved that there was a door to go out to a newly-installed patio. Moonlight spilled over the wooden floor, shining like black alabaster over the expanse of the piano.

Once he took in the grand instrument, everything else fell away. Suddenly, he could see a younger version of himself sitting on the piano bench, Monsieur Travers flouncing around with large gestures to coax Buck into playing properly. The old man had brought sheet music upon sheet music, some older compositions and some newer ones from all over the world. 

Buck made himself move towards the instrument, the faint, familiar scent of piano polish tingling his nose. He pulled out the stool and settled down on it, lifting the lid to the familiar keys. The cold, polished wood sent flickers of anticipation down his spine.

The instrument was exactly the same as he’d left it. Somehow, he knew that no one had played it after him. He ran the tips of his fingers along the stand, imagining all the propped sheet music. There had been a time where Buck had even propped his school work up on it so he could do homework and play the piano at the same time.

The thought made him smile even as his eyes misted. Experimentally, Buck lifted his right hand to press to keys, playing an introductory riff that reverberated in the empty space. Remembering the other two slumbering tenants of the house, Buck got up to prop the door shut before coming back.

This time, he put both hands to the black and white keys that shone in the moonlight, fingers moving in a familiar melody. One that Buck didn’t know he remembered how to play. He watched his hands, half covered by one of Eddie’s thread-bare sleep shirts, as his fingers pressed the keys in a calculated pattern. The band on his left ring finger winked merrily in the dim light with the action, encouraging him to continue.

Slowly, the music became more intense as Buck warmed up to playing again and loosened his posture to easily ghost along the keys.

With harrowing clarity, it became clear what part of himself he’d been denying. Note after note strummed from the grand piano, travelling towards the gleams of moonlight to sweep into an elegant bow. It seemed that nature was open to him today, each new chord leading to a new dance.

* * *

Eddie watched Buck silently, admiring the view. He was beautiful like this, lost in the music he was making with his own hands. 

His eyes were closed, a furrow of concentration deepened between his brow as his strong fingers drifted over the keys. Buck commanded attention everywhere he went, and the piano was no exception; each press of his fingers among the black and white keys was a new demand the instrument readily surrendered over to him.

His lashes fanned over his cheeks as his head tilted to the side, the dim light highlighting every sharp cut and curve of his form. There was something unearthly about him in this moment; skin glistening in the pale light, the moonlight having turned his hair a silvery-grey. Even from Eddie’s vantage point at Buck’s side, he could see how invigorating it was to be playing the instrument after such a long while. He half-expected wings to sprout from between Buck’s shoulder blades with how angelic he looked.

It hadn’t been the sound of the piano that woke him up. It was Buck slipping out of bed, even though Eddie knew Buck had tried to be as careful as possible. He’d waited for about 20 minutes before looking for him, a compulsive need to make sure he was okay. And he was so glad he’d gotten up to witness this sight.

Buck kept gliding his fingers along the plastic keys, a beautiful melody echoing in the cozy space. Eddie felt suspiciously like he was intruding on a private moment, but couldn’t bring himself to lose this image of his love, clad in one of _his_ shirts, laying himself bare like this.

The song, even without words, spoke of melancholy and longing, but there was an undercurrent of passion that wormed its way through Eddie’s rib cage. His heart clenched at the bittersweet music.

As the tempo of the song increased, as did Buck’s fervour, pressing keys in a harried rhythm until he’d completely veered off-track from what he’d set out to play. Eddie stood a little straighter at that, knowing this was no longer an expression of musical appreciation. Buck was venting to the piano now, in shrill and out-of-tune notes as his fingers forced a tune from the instrument. His eyes were open now, twin blue pools of frustration and anxiety as he watched his own hands harshly punish the keys, almost like he was watching someone else.

Unable to watch him torture himself like this, Eddie moved over to Buck’s side, settling down next to him on the chair. There was only an inch separating the two. 

Buck hung his head, breathing like he’d just ran a marathon, even as his movements eased up to pressing a few keys lightly.

“Nothing’s changed,” he whispered after a stretch of silence. “I can still play, Eddie. My hands still know how to play.” 

Eddie stayed quiet, warring on whether to share this observation with him. “Buck, did you know that you make these actions unconsciously?”

He turned to look at him, confused. Eddie spread his own fingers across Buck’s longer ones, moving them in a pattern he’d seen Buck do a thousand times to mime playing the piano. “Whenever we watch anything with a catchy beat, you move your fingers like this. At first, I thought you were just drumming them to the beat, but then I noticed that there was a pattern to the movement.”

“Really? I do that?”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed it forever, but even more so after that piano-theft call. Never put it together until then.” 

“You know, some memories are like...revolving doors,” he said softly, scooting closer to Eddie. “The piano is one of those memories for me. It’s like...it sends me for a spin, but it brings me back to a bunch of other memories that I have of my childhood that I don’t like remembering. It brings back the feeling of abandonment.

“This instrument has always been my escape. When Maddie left, it was the only thing that would _listen_ to me.” Eddie’s heart broke at the raw emotion in Buck’s tone. Tears shone unbridled in his bright blue eyes as he continued speaking. “But today, I realized how cathartic it is to let go of the piano as an escape. At one point, the instrument I loved more than life itself became a symbol of all the things I didn’t want to be reminded of.”

“Then…” Eddie picked up Buck’s hand, running a thumb under the metal band that now decorated the pale skin. Swiping a hand to clear Buck’s face, Eddie brushed his fingers along his lower lip, smiling at him. “Just play for the hell of it.”

“I love you,” Buck declared simply before leaning in to kiss him. He turned his attention back to the grand piano, clearly unaware of how the three words still scrambled Eddie’s insides, even after all this time together. As he began playing again, Eddie shook off his stupor to focus on him. “This is the first movement in Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, _adagio sostenuto_. The movement is given its name for the tempo. This sonata was one that my piano teacher and I used to practice for hours on end because it’s such a beautiful piece. It was one that was said to be classical but it could be a romantic piece.”

Eddie could listen to Buck talk about anything for hours, but hearing him talk about this was something. His voice rolled over the Italian syllables as if they were made for his tongue. As Buck started playing, Eddie paid less to the music and more attention to how free he looked. He _unfolded_ in front of Eddie as the music stretched on, his hands moving - _gliding_ \- with startling intimacy across the keys. His bare feet moved to press the pedals at the bottom of the grand instrument in addition to the keys.

“The third movement is something that Monsieur Travers and I worked on for weeks, because it’s such an intense piece. It’s called _presto agitato_ , for obvious reasons.” Eddie’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline as the slow music morphed into a rapid pace. He’d never heard this piece before, but he could tell that Buck wasn’t missing a single note. The open lid of the piano allowed the song to surround them with a rich sound. 

“Buck, this is beautiful,” Eddie said as Buck’s ferocious playing tapered off. The moonlight threaded through Buck’s hair as his eyes twinkled now. “You are gorgeous like this, thank you for letting me see you like this.”

He didn’t take anything Buck offered for granted. The man loved with everything in him, and Eddie would rather die before taking advantage of his big heart.

“Did I wake you when I got up?” he asked as he closed the lid to the piano keys gingerly.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried,” he confessed, taking Buck’s hand as they stood up.

“Nothing’s changed in here. Maybe I’ll bring Christopher here tomorrow.”

“He’s going to have another hyper-fixation,” Eddie laughed, pressing a kiss to Buck’s cheek. “Though, to be honest, seeing you look so angelic while you played has me fixated on you too.”

“Angelic, huh?” Buck smirked, the cheeky grin back to his face, Eddie mock-groaned quietly as they crawled back in bed together. 

“Your head is never going to fit through the door,” he scolded lightly before holding him close. Nuzzling his hair, Eddie conceded the compliment one more time, unable to help himself from showering his fiancé in all the praise he deserved. “But yes. Angelic.”

His impish grin turned softer, more genuine as he shifted upwards in Eddie’s arms to settle more comfortably along him. “Thank you for being here.”

“I’m here forever, Buck. I promise.”

* * *

The next morning, Eddie awoke to sounds of giggles and random piano notes. Taking a moment to scrub the sleep out of his eyes, there was no question of where Buck had gone. Not when Eddie could hear his very familiar chuckle and Christopher’s high-pitched laughs, even through the closed door.

He stumbled out of the bedroom, down the hallway, only to freeze in the doorway of the parlour. Christopher and Buck were sitting side-by-side on the piano bench, Buck playing a riff with one hand while the other guided Christopher’s much smaller hand along the keys. 

Normally, Eddie wouldn’t have moved from a sight like this, but as it was, he needed to keep this on record. So he raced down the hall to grab his phone and sprinted back, turning on his camera to capture this moment.

His eyes felt teary by the time the two noticed him watching. If anything, it was cathartic, the sight of his fiancé and his son having the times of their lives over something that had been causing Buck so much pain. Buck’s previous apprehension was pretty much gone, and Christopher’s face was flushed from his excitement.

“Want to explain who’s making music at the crack of dawn?” Eddie growled playfully, surreptitiously blinking to clear his vision. Buck and Christopher laughed at his display of mock-anger, complete with two hands propped on his waist admonishingly.

Eddie beamed at Buck as Christopher jolted in place with an enthusiastic “Me and Bucky! Look, Dad!” With the utmost concentration, Christopher curled his fingers so only his index fingers were extended and slowly pressed a few keys to play “Happy Birthday.”

If his heart swelled anymore than this, they’d have to take him to the hospital. “That sounds great, buddy, I’m very proud of you. What else did Buck show you?”

“We hadn’t gotten past anything else. The birthday song was the first thing I learned, so we’ve been learning that.” Buck smiled down at Christopher before turning a very familiar cheeky grin towards Eddie. 

Before he knew it, Buck had started playing an upbeat tune on the piano that Eddie recognized as a song that had become viral on those Tiktok videos Christopher watched sometimes.

He laughed loudly as Buck began singing as he played, nudging Christopher with one shoulder to go to Eddie. Grabbing his son’s hand to help him off the piano bench, Eddie started twirling him gently around the parlour.

_They say oh my god I see the way you shine_

_Take your hand, my dear, and place them both in mine_

_You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by_

_And now I beg to see you dance just one more time_

His fiancé continued playing, his amusement ringing out as Eddie and Christopher moved in a silly jig, Eddie helping Christopher keep his balance without his crutches. Buck danced in place as his fingers glided across the keys to keep the upbeat rhythm going.

_Ooh I see you, see you, see you every time_

_And oh my I, I, I like your style_

_You, you make me, make me, make me wanna cry_

_And now I beg to see you dance just one more time_

Eddie joined in singing with Buck as Christopher’s shrill giggles pierced the air. This was a moment of pure joy for all of them, just them in the still morning air. He couldn't stop the wide smile that stretched across his face. 

_So they say_

_Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh, oh, oh_

_I've never seen anybody do the things you do before_

_They say move for me, move for me, move for me, ay, ay, ay_

_And when you're done I'll make you do it all again_

Swinging Christopher onto his back, Eddie walked back over to Buck to hug him from behind as Buck swayed in place to the music. The tune tapered off as Buck turned to blow a raspberry on Christopher’s cheek, which was now poking on the other side of Buck’s head. Eddie pressed a thankful kiss into Buck’s shoulder, sandwiched between his two boys.

Their sounds of elation as Buck started playing another song told Eddie that this was the happiest the three of them had ever been. 

All because of these ivory keys.

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awE_eJDfQDA ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awE_eJDfQDA)

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments make my day, thank you for ALL of you that leave your appreciation here :D 
> 
> Here's three links to the songs named above:
> 
> [Moonlight Sonata - First Movement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea8oX-A8swk)
> 
> [Moonlight Sonata - Third Movement](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucBfXpCA6s)
> 
> [Dance Monkey Piano Cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awE_eJDfQDA)
> 
> You can find me on Tumblr at [zeethebooknerd](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/zeethebooknerd) or on Twitter at [tkreyesevandiaz](https://twitter.com/tkreyesevandiaz).


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